Friday I'm in Love
by Puckulence
Summary: Marie Kanker has always been a menace, a bully, a hindrance. But when Double Dee sees her sensitive side, will he be able to look at her in a new light? Based off the song by the Cure, "Friday I'm in Love." Complete.
1. Monday: Edd

**All right, so this is a fanfic based off of the song "Friday I'm in Love With You" by the Cure. It's not necessarily a songfic, as there won't be random lyrics spewed across the page, but I will put the beginning lyrics the chapter corresponds with at the top. Enjoy. **

"_**I don't care if Monday's blue."**_

**Monday - Edd**

It had been a long, rowdy day in the cul-de-sac; Eddy had planned another crazy scam and, as was typical for the Eds, it had gone awry and ended in failure. Underneath the late afternoon sun, the three Eds sat on the sidewalk, head in hands.

"Why didn't this stupid scam _work!_" Eddy grunted as he stood. He shoved his hand in his pockets and spun around to face Edd. "This was all your fault, Sockhead!"

"Why, I never! And if you don't mind me asking, Eddy, how was this particular failure _my_ fault?" Edd, more commonly known as Double Dee to his friends, looked at him in exasperation. At the end of the day, Eddy always blamed him for a scam's downfall.

Eddy crossed his arms and scowled. "You shoulda said something! You knew it wasn't gonna work, didn't ya?"

Double Dee gave him a sour look. "Well, maybe if _someone_ had thought _logically_ and realized that I was right before the trial-and-error stage of our scams, we wouldn't fail nearly as often!" he cried before standing up as well.

Ed gazed up at his friends. "Awh, guys, don't do this! We need to get along, like a pair of shoes!" he stated proudly, his typical toothy smile plastered across his face.

Double Dee felt his shoulders slump in defeat; he never had it in him to upset Ed, even when Eddy was deliberately making him angry. "Oh, Eddy, Ed's right! We'll just try something different tomorrow, yes?"

Eddy sighed and kicked stray gravel across the cul-de-sac pavement. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Sockhead." His constantly irate tone was betrayed by the smile on his face. "Well, boys, whaddaya say we go to the dump and look for something for tomorrow's scam?" The other two Eds nodded in quick agreement and the group scurried out of the cul-de-sac and into the woods.

As they trekked through the local woods and Eddy rambled about possible scam ideas and opportunities, Double Dee was taking in the ambience of nature. The oak trees grew tall here, reaching high into the blue sky, their leaves and branches looking woven together and blocking out most of the hot sun. A lattice-work of shadows fell across his face and the ground beneath him, and as he looked down he saw something crawling in a patch of light.

"Well, I'll say!" Double Dee stopped quickly and yanked out his magnifying glass, the one object he always had on him regardless of the location. He held it up close to his right eye and bent down. "It's a Basilica Orb Weaver!" he cried excitedly. "Intriguing!" The spider was crawling slowly across the floor of the woods, and Double Dee reached into his opposite pocket to produce a mason jar. With gentle hands, he scooted the spider into its temporary home and screwed on the lid. "There! Don't worry, _mecynogea_ _lemniscata,_ I won't keep you for too long!" He tapped the top of the lid lovingly before placing the mason jar back into his pocket.

"Hey, Sockhead, hurry up!" a voice called loudly from the distance. Double Dee realized that he had fallen behind the group considerably in his venture with the spider. "Oh, uh, coming Eddy!"

He began to scuttle over to catch up with his friends, and as he did so, he said, "Oh, Eddy, you'll never believe what I found! It's a-" His sentence was interrupted by a pair of pale, skinny arms wrapping around his midsection. Double Dee felt his face grow hot and his heart beat faster as he saw the crimson nail polish on the fingers.

"Girlfriend?" the shrill voice of Marie Kanker drawled. She giggled and Double Dee began to panic.

"_Eddy!_" he shrieked, arms beginning to flail uselessly. "_Eeeeeddddyyyyy!_"

"Awh, what, you're not happy to see me?" Marie sneered, pulling him closer before dragging him backwards, farther away from his friends. Double Dee began yanking at her hands, desperate to be let loose from her iron grip.

"Hey, Marie! I see you found an Ed!" Marie's surly sister Lee said as she came walking out from behind a tree.

"Yeah, what's he doing out here all alone?" May had followed pursuit, blonde hair billowing behind her as she ran over to the scene.

"I don't think he's alone, girls, he's callin' for Eddy!" Marie grabbed his face roughly with one hand. "Not that I care," she said offhandedly, "I've got my boyfriend right here!"

"Please, don't!" Double Dee cried out, heart thumping wildly in his chest. Suddenly, he grew less worried as he saw the silhouettes of his friends running towards him. Ed came galloping in and came to a screeching stop.

"Kankers, Eddy!" he yelped, but before Ed could make his escape he was roped in by May. Lee stood there, tapping her foot and waiting for Eddy to make his grand entry like he always did.

"What're you yappin' about now, Lumpy?" Eddy's erratic voice said as he approached the scene. Lee stalked over to him and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Kankers," he grunted under his breath.

"Hey, dreamboat, did you miss me?"

"Hardly."

"_Eddy, what're we going to do?_" Double Dee shouted again. Marie planted a kiss on cheek, leaving a large, red smudge.

"Shut up, honey! Stop ruining all the fun!" He could feel himself being dragged across the earth, his friends and their torturous "girlfriends" being left behind.

"Where on earth are you taking me, Marie?" Double Dee pleaded.

"Just somewhere a little more _private_," she cooed. Worried, he squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst. He felt himself hit the warm ground with a thud, and then proceeded to open on eye cautiously.

Marie was looming above him, as intimidating as ever, arms crossed over her chest. "Well, doll, let's get to the fun stuff!" She reached a hand down her shirt and produced a tube of cherry lipstick before applying it over her lips. She bent down slowly and placed a kiss dangerously close to his mouth. Double Dee could feel trickles of sweat rolling down his face, cheeks read from embarrassment and nervousness.

She brushed her hand across his face. "You're too cute when you're being shy!"

"Marie…" he moaned hopelessly, knowing she wouldn't leave him alone.

It was there in the shady woods of Peach Creek, amongst the screaming of his friends, that Double Dee got his share of the Eds typical torture, administered by the Kanker sisters. The three met up again not too long later; Ed's clothes were disheveled, Eddy was soaking wet, and all three of them were covered with big smudges of red lipstick.

"Good lord, Eddy! How'd you get wet!" Double Dee exclaimed.

Eddy shook his head and rung out his shirt. "Oh, I dunno, maybe by _Lee throwing me into the creek!_ What about you, Shakespeare, what the heck did Marie do to you?"

Double Dee felt his face grow hot again, "Well, she certainly didn't throw me in any creek." He began to rub at one of the lipstick stains on his face. "She just bombarded me with unwanted affection, like usual.

Both boys glanced over at Ed. "Ed. . . What did she do to you."

"_Don't make me talk about it Eddy!_" Ed yelled before taking cover in a nearby bush. The boys scratched their heads and decided they didn't want to know.

"Stupid Kankers!" Eddy smoothed back his wet hair. "I wish they'd just go away!"

"I concur! But every time we try, they just come back and torture us ten fold!" Double Dee said, voice coated in displeasure.

"I know, let's hit 'em with a shovel!"

"Eddy! The Kankers, as gruesome as they may be, are still ladies!"

"Says who?" Eddy chuckled at the thought of the Kankers being ladies, since they were far from it.

Double Dee sighed and put a hand to his head. "I digress. Gentlemen, I will see you two tomorrow."

He waved his friends goodbye and trudged home. He dug around in his pockets when he approached his front door to find the house key. He unlocked the door and opened it gingerly, despite the fact that he knew no one would be home. On the counter there was a sticky note addressed to him, telling him to make sure he'd done the dishes. With a heavy sigh, Double Dee folded the note and threw it in the trashcan before washing the few remaining dishes.

The day had been too long, too disappointing, too blue. Double Dee couldn't wait to wash this mess off his face and change clothes to sleep in his quiet, labeled room, where there were no sticky notes, no messes, and especially no Kankers.

**Read and review, please. ;]**


	2. Monday: Marie

**Monday - Marie**

"_Monday you can fall apart."_

"Well, girls," Lee started, twirling a flyaway red curl around her finger, "I think today was pretty good."

"Yeah!" May cheered excitedly. "It was good seeing our boyfriends!"

Marie continued to repaint her nails. "Yeah, it was real nice."

"Why you so quiet, Marie?" Lee asked in her gravelly voice. Lee and May were lounging on the couch, while Marie lay in the floor in front of them.

"I'm tired, that's all, Can't a girl get some alone time around here, sheesh!" Marie snarled at them as she waved her hand about in the air.

"Hehe, we saw you take your Edd away into the woods, Marie." Lee's mouth curled up into an odd, wry smile.

Marie shrugged. "Just 'cause me and my honey like time alone doesn't mean nothin', Lee." She stood and checked her nails in the light. "I'm hittin' the sack, night." May and Lee glanced at each other, both unsure of what was going on in their middle sister's head.

Marie walked into the bathroom. It was a wreck, just like the rest of the trailer, but she kicked whatever was in her away across the room and stood in front of the mirror. She leaned forward and looked closely at her face. Her blue hair was short and messy, like usual. Her eye was covered in powdery blue shadow, and beneath them a dusting of freckles resided. When she smiled, her teeth were a little off color and she looked more like she was smirking.

"I just know he likes that Nazz girl…" Marie mumbled to herself as she pulled at a loose blue hair. She didn't think she was ugly; actually, she thought she was rather pretty. It bothered her that Double Dee didn't return her affections the way she wanted him to, and she had began to ponder if it was her appearance that was lackluster. She examined her clothes, the same black midriff and cargo pants she had always worn. Marie shook her head and sat down on the lip of the bathtub.

In her mind, she began to ponder her personality. Perhaps she was too rough with him? Marie bit her lip; she couldn't change her rough exterior. She had built up her menacing persona over the years, and she couldn't help but like that people didn't want to mess with her. She enjoyed being a strong female who did what she wanted.

Her thoughts turned to Edd. He was quiet, polite, sweet, and oh-so smart. She smiled as she conjured up his image in her head. He was always going off into some tangent about morality to his friends, and his cleanliness made her swoon in the strangest way. He was everything she wasn't, and for a split second she didn't blame the boy for turning her away with disinterest. Her Kanker attitude wouldn't let her entertain those thoughts for long, though, and soon she grew angry that he couldn't just accept her love. Part of her didn't care if he hated her kisses, he would take them anyway.

Deep down, Marie knew that this was not how it was supposed to be, but she didn't know if she could show her softer side. She wasn't just this rough girl, trailer trash that no one liked. She knew that she had other things to her personality. Her thick skin wouldn't let that raw part of her through; she had trained herself that way, had lived that way too long. There was no way she could change now.

With a sigh of defeat, she skulked to her room, where she knew that she was safe in her own skin.


	3. Tuesday: Edd

**Tuesday - Edd**

"_Tuesday's grey, and Wednesday too."_

The following morning, Edd was not woken by vibrant rays of sunshine or the jubilant chirping of blue birds outside. Instead, a loud banging sound that came from the other side of door brought him out of his peaceful slumber. He jumped as if someone had shocked him, startled by these loud noises, and stretched. Edd stood, still groggy from being so suddenly awakened, and dragged himself to the door.

He creaked it open slowly, and then with a hint of mild irritation in his voice, he said, "Eddy, what are you doing banging on my door?"

Eddy stood there, already fully dressed in his jeans and yellow shirt, looking more chipper than Double Dee had seen him. "No time for questions, Hamlet, we've got a scam to plan!" He gripped Double Dee's arm and yanked him out into his hallway before bounding down the stairs, dragging his friend behind him.

"E-eddy! What are - I can't leave yet, I'm not dressed and I _haven't had my shower!_" Double Dee attempted to peel away Eddy's fingers from his forearm, to no avail.

Eddy skidded to a stop in the kitchen. "Come on, Double Dee, you don't need a shower _every morning._"

Double Dee gave him a look that suggested a lecture was about to take place. "Look here, Eddy, I take a shower every morning, and I do not plan on deviating from that schedule any time in the near future!" He crossed his arms and turned his back to him, unwilling to compromise.

Eddy, although not one to give in easy, waved his arms and replied angrily, "Fine, fine, just get your stupid shower, I gotta go get Ed anyway." He grunted something unintelligible under his breath and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, then walked himself out the door.

Double Dee sighed heavily as he made his way back up the stairs. "If only Eddy deviated from _his_ schedules more often."

A short twenty minutes later, Double Dee, clean and dressed, went back to the kitchen to find it no longer empty, but instead occupied with his two best friends. He felt panic flood his system as he saw the situation unfolding in front of him.

Eddy was laughing hysterically as Ed stood there with a painting, one Double Dee recognized from the hallway upstairs, shoved over his head and hanging around his neck. "_What are you doing!_" Double Dee gasped as he ran over to his friend. He tugged at the painting, trying to remove it from his neck, but Ed just laughed and yanked it off his neck before slamming it down over Double Dee.

"Good morning Double Dee!" Ed said happily.

"Good…morning, Ed," he replied weakly, Eddy's laughter ringing in his head. He pulled out a chair from the table and took a seat before he fell over.

Eddy strutted over to him. "Well, Sockhead, now that you've got your shower-"

"Eddy, why has Ed destroyed one of Mother's favorite paintings?" Double Dee interrupted him. His gaze was flat as he looked at Eddy.

He shrugged and waved his hands nonchalantly. "That doesn't matter now, we've got scammin' to do!" He rubbed his palms together and his voice grew high-pitched, the same way it always did when he thought about money.

Ed yanked the painting off of Double Dee's head and tossed it aside, aside being out the door. Double Dee looked towards the sky, trying not to think about how his parents would react to the ruined painting. "What exactly do you have in mind, today, Eddy." It wasn't stated as a question.

"Hehe, I thought you'd never ask!" Eddy grabbed him and drug him out the door, talking all the while. "Well ya see, first we're gonna…"

While Eddy rambled about his newest, sure-to-be-a-winner scam, Double Dee looked around the cul-de-sac precariously, feeling uneasy. He felt as if they were being watched, which was never a good thing. He kept his guard up and turned to tell the other two about his odd feelings, but he came face to face with Ed, smiling in that naïve way of his.

"Ah!" Double Dee yelped, shocked. He put a hand to his head and steadied himself.

Eddy whipped around. "What's your problem today, Double Dee? You're so out of it! We can't have you actin' like this during the scam!" he scolded.

Double Dee crept to him slowly. "Eddy," he started, his voice shaky, "I fear we're being observed by someone."

"Pfft," he replied, "you're just paranoid, Double Dee. There ain't nobody watchin' us."

"Isn't anybody, Eddy," Double Dee corrected, a tired look on his face.

"Exactly!" He continued to walk completely unconcerned. He disappeared around the other side of the wooden fence. Ed ran off to meet him and Double Dee checked his surroundings once more before following his friends.

Eddy stopped and the other two Eds slammed into him from behind. "Alright, boys! This is where we're gonna set up our scam!" He dug around in his pockets, fished a rolled up piece of paper out of them, and then tossed it over his shoulder to Double Dee, who scrambled to get it before it hit the ground.

Double Dee unrolled the paper and struggled to read Eddy's atrocious penmanship as he watched eagerly. "Eddy…you're saying you wanna build a giant-"

He stopped mid-sentence. His hands began to shake, fear growing within him. "Eddy…!"

"What, Sockhead?"

"K-k-k-k-!"

"Jeez, just spit it out, will ya?" Eddy turned away from him, and it was then that he saw what Double Dee was stuttering about.

The Eds looked at each other and then shouted in unison, "Kankers!"

Perched on the wooden fence were the Kanker sisters. Their tormentors had already ventured back for more. Marie stared Double Dee down, eyes smoldering, looking amorous and dangerous. She fluttered her unconcealed eye at him and wiggled her fingers, giggling all the while. All he could feel was fear of the upcoming harassment and it spilled onto his face, and he could see she grooved on that look.

Lee hopped down from the fence first, her unruly red hair looking more like hazardous flames. She inched close to Eddy, who, despite being visibly shaken, stood his ground. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and waited.

"Hey there, Dreamboat," Lee drawled, using her favorite term of endearment for Eddy.

"Come on, Kankers, scram. No one wants you around here!" Eddy hollered in her face, pointing into the distance.

Lee smiled, but it ended up looking more threatening than anything. "Ah, shortstuff, is that anyway to talk to your girlfriend?"

"Yeah!" May chimed in. She hopped down to the ground. Slowly, she stepped over to Ed to lead him into the wood fence.

Marie ran a hand through her unkempt blue hair and climbed down. Double Dee felt chilled by her expression as she slinked to him. He backed up quickly, calculating the best direction to run.

"Hey," Eddy started, too loud, "what's that in your hair, Lee?"

"There's somethin' in my hair? What?" Lee jumped back and her hands reached for her red curls. Eddy spun on his heel and ran in the opposite direction. Ed, who had been bracing himself for May's wrath, followed suit and clumsily began to ran. Double Dee silently thanked Eddy for this save and ran as fast as his lanky legs would carry him.

"Come on guys!" Eddy said through gritted teeth as he waved them forward.

"Ahhh!" Ed simply screamed. He grabbed Double Dee and Eddy by the waists and pushed forward.

"They're coming, Eddy!" Double Dee shrieked. The Kankers were merely feet behind them, giggly and giddy as ever.

"What do you want me to do about it, Genius?"

"_No kisses for Ed!_" Ed cried out as he made the sharpest of turns around the fence to the other side. Eddy's arm was rammed into the wood and he cursed loudly.

Double Dee gripped his hat and pulled it down over his ears; his nervous, panicking habit. Everything was passing in a slight blur, and all he could concentrate on was praying they'd escape the Kankers. Despite Eds incredible speed, somehow they were closing in on them. He believed they had a chance until Ed tripped over something strewn in the middle of the road and was sent flying through the air.

"Ah!" Eddy screeched as he went hurtling across the road and into a random tree.

"No!" Double Dee shut his eyes as he landed roughly on someone's front lawn. He cracked open an eye in time to see Ed skid to a stop on the cul-de-sac pavement. He braced himself against the ground and began to pull himself to a standing position, but someone grabbed his shirt and yanked him up.

"Hey, honey," Marie said with a bat of an eye. She blew a kiss at him and then preceded to grab his shirt collar.

"Oh, um, hello Marie…" Double Dee started slowly as she pulled him closer. "A lovely day, isn't? Unfortunately, I, erh, have to get going-"

"Nuh-uh," Marie sneered as he tried to make another run for it. She jerked him back to her. "You're not goin' anywhere."

"Oh…" he nearly whispered as she leaned towards his face. When their noses touched, he felt himself beginning to sweat.

"Why you so nervous today, sweeheart?" Marie asked. She planted a kiss on his cheek, close to his ear. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. Now."

The closeness, the kissing, the unwanted affection; it was all unbearable. In a moment of fury, Double Dee bit his lip and yelled, "_Please don't touch me!_" He shoved her away and fell backwards, back onto the grass.

Marie loomed over him, not amused. "What are you talkin' about now, Pumpkin?" She placed a hand on her hip.

He scurried away from her, still terrified. "I can't stand this infernal touching!" He took off, running to his friends who were currently being tortured.

"Double D, SAVE YOURSELF," Ed said pitifully while May was smothering him with kisses.

"Help me!" Eddy cried, shameless. Lee had him wrapped in her arms. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled, and she slapped him on the face. "Come on guys!" he yelled, now freed from her grasp.

The two ran to rescue Ed before Lee and Marie decided to act again. They jerked him away and ran for a place to hide, a haven. Eddy directed them to his own house, the closest one, and they rammed through the front door. He slammed it closed behind him and locked it quickly.

"They look like their leaving!" Eddy said, voice full of relief. He turned around to face Double Dee, who was busy rubbing the lipstick mark on his face away. "How'd you get away from Marie?"

"I just sort of…politely shoved her?" Double Dee said, his response turning into a question.

"Well, good! We were completely done for if you hadn't gotten away from her!"

"She looked upset…" he said slowly, suddenly feeling a surge of guilt. "Perhaps I shouldn't have-"

"Perhaps what?" Eddy asked. "She's just a Kanker."

Double Dee rubbed his arm awkwardly. "That does not derail from the fact that she is a girl, Eddy!"

"I don't hardly count them," he spat. He glanced over at Ed, who was about to touch a book on a local table. "Don't touch my stuff, Ed!"

Eddy began to scold him, and the sound of his angry voice faded into the distance as Double Dee thought about today. Regardless of what Eddy said, he couldn't help but feel bad. Marie had looked upset, not angry, but more…disappointed. He didn't understand what he had seen; a sensitive side of Marie?

"Come on, Shakespeare, let's go to my room and rethink that scam we were plannin'," he heard Eddy say. Double Dee followed his two friends, hoping that whatever happened now would make this dreary, grey day less dismal.

**I feel pretty good about this chapter, and I hope you all do as well! I'll be writing Marie's chapter soon as well. Until then folks. Until then.**


	4. Tuesday: Marie

**Tuesday - Marie**

"_Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart."_

Marie Kanker was not happy.

She leaned against the warm wood of the fence, arms tightly folded over her chest. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her mouth was set into a hard, thin line; her eye could have burrowed through a soul.

"Hey, Marie!" Lee called to her from the other side of the cul-de-sac. She averted her eyes over to her sister and snapped her head in her direction.

"What, Lee?" Marie's voice was even and smooth, a characteristic it possessed only when she was angry. Lee crossed over to her, May following quietly behind, and came to a stop in front of her.

"What's gotcha so ticked off, Marie?" Lee braced herself against the fence, played with earring.

"I don't wanna talk about it," she spat back, venomous. She wasn't angry at her sisters, but who else was there to suffer her wrath?

"Ah, come on Marie, that's what sisters are for!" May said in her obnoxious tone. Marie shoved her away. "Hey, _Marie!_"

"Don't talk to me!" Marie snapped at both of her sisters. She jammed her hands into her pockets and turned to leave.

Lee and May glanced at each other, their expressions puzzled. Lee shrugged. "I dunno what's wrong with her, but I don't care as long as that attitude doesn't stick around."

Marie shut out the sounds of her sisters' voices as she continued to walk. She kept her head bent low as she passed down the street, shoulders slumped, eyes on her feet. She kept walking until the neighborhood gave way to green grass and scattered sticks. She lifted her head and noticed that she had wandered into the woods, close to the same place where they ran into the Eds the previous day. Marie swatted away low-hanging limbs as she passed through the foliage, not caring where she ended up.

The woodland silence was broken by the sounds of water. Marie stood on her toes to see above the thicket in front of her and saw the creek. She pushed through the bushes and broke through to a clearing divided in half by a wide, deep-running creek. She took a seat on a stray shard of slate rock and folded her legs beneath her. With a glance at her arms and hands, she saw thorns from where she had fought the thicket stuck in her skin.

"What a crummy day," she said to herself as she began picking thorns out of her skin. Small pinpricks of blood came to the surface with every tug.

Marie stared directly into the running water, mind preoccupied. Her head was so full of thoughts and ached with every one. When she pulled out the last thorn, she put her arms behind her head, stretched out across the flat rock, and fluttered her eyes shut.

She wondered if this was what it felt like to be heartbroken.

Maybe to her sisters today was like any other day, but that was not the case with Marie. There was a dull aching in her chest and a heaviness on her shoulders. The more she thought about it, the more vivid and intense the pain became. She shot into an upright sitting position, the hurt she felt in her chest weighing her down. Beside the babbling creek and underneath the sunny sky, Marie Kanker had her first good cry in months.

Her traitor tears made her feel broken and vulnerable; she was thankful that she was alone. She wiped her eyes with her hands, only to break down once more to see blue and black makeup smudged on her hands. Some kind of dam had burst, and now anything and everything was heartbreaking. These emotions were foreign to Marie, and she had no idea how to respond to them besides crying.

A few minutes passed, everything silent except for the sound of her sobbing and hiccupping. Marie smoothed her hair away from her eyes and wiped them dry in an attempt to pull herself together. After she steadied her breathing, she sighed heavily and lay back down. Marie was ashamed of her tears and once again thanked her lucky stars that it was only her in the woods.

Edd had yelled at her. He had made it clear that he didn't like her. She had been forcing herself to stay under the misconception that somewhere, deep down, he had feelings other than fear for her, positive feelings, the kind that made her blush and giggle. Today, that illusion was no more; reality had come thundering down on her on this horrible day. Marie didn't know if she could face it.

Her feelings for Double Dee were a prominent part of her person these days. She thought about him when she woke up in the morning, when she fixed her hair and put on her makeup, and on those rare occasions when she cracked open a book. Something that had started out as a playful (although admittedly obsessive) crush had morphed into something big and fearsome. Her girlish feelings had grown out of their infatuation stage and into what she thought were the early stages love.

Love; the word made her shiver. It seemed so unfair to love someone with all she was, only to have them run away.

As the thought ran through her mind, a surge of anger passed through Marie, momentarily replacing the sadness. She cursed herself for letting her soft, raw side break through her tough exterior after so many years. Her blood boiled as she thought about how foolish she probably looked, sitting in the woods and crying like some regular sissy. Kanker pride seized her and she knew that she was _not_ like any other girl in Peach Creek, that girls like her were one in a million, and that girls like her didn't cry over boys.

However, her pride was as short-lived as her anger. A sinking feeling settled over her and the disappointment came back. Marie felt that if there ever was a boy worth crying over, it was Edd. The way he made her head swim, how her heart got that fluttery feeling when she kissed him… she couldn't help how out of control her feelings were now.

Marie had fallen for her complete opposite. He was kind, chivalrous, and smart; she bullied, hurt, and never attended classes. She didn't like to clean and you wouldn't catch her dead in a library; Double Dee couldn't sleep in a room that wasn't labeled properly and smelled like a library. She partly admired him for all those things she wasn't, as if just being near him made her a better person.

It cut her deep to think that he had most likely never felt any of these things for her. Double Dee probably saw her as nothing short of a hindrance, a daily nuisance he couldn't get rid of. Marie would've bet anything that he winced at her flyaway blue hair, that he wished he could disappear when she entered the same vicinity as him, and that her domineering personality was beyond unattractive.

There was no way out of this predicament. After years of trying, Marie knew now that one could not force someone to like them. No matter how hard she loved him and how much she pined for his attention, Double Dee would remain afraid and, most likely, repulsed by her advances. He would continuously refuse her until he felt feelings of amour, and Marie was fairly sure by now that such an event was unlikely to occur.

Marie sat up and looked at the creek once more. Her gaze rose to the tangled trees of the woods. The setting sun cast a gentle pink light across her face and signaled the coming of nightfall. A gentle breeze was blowing through the limbs of the trees and rattling the leaves, a symphony of sounds. She looked down in the cool water, her own face gazing back at her. She looked like a mess, with her wind-blown hair and smudged makeup. Lines of black and blue were running down her cheeks and Marie thought she looked nothing short of pathetic. She dipped her hands into the creek water and washed off the hideous running makeup.

Marie stood and wiped her wet hands on her pants. She knew that it would be dark soon and after all that crying, she just wanted to sleep. The reality of her unrequited love still heavy on her shoulders, she trudged home, back to the trashy trailer park where she belonged.

When she arrived back at the trailer and went through the ratty screen door, she realized that no one was home. She shrugged and was pleased that she was the only one there; alone time was what she needed. Marie walked into the living area over to the bookshelf, where rows of books were shoved, more for appearance than actual reading. She selected one at random and didn't bother to read the title. She opened it slowly and brought it to her face, then inhaled deeply. The scent was painful and lovely at the same time, and with her muscles less tense and her body more relaxed, Marie shelved the book and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

**I made Marie's part longer this time. I thought she deserved something more.**

**Read and review, please. :D**


	5. Wednesday: Edd

**First of all, I'd like to apologize for the crazy lack of updates. DX I know, I fail so fucking hard, lol. But, anyway, this is the fifth chapter we've all been waiting for, haha. Just let me say that Marie's chapter will be pretty sweet, if you know what I mean. :D Sorry if this ends a little abruptly, I felt no need to go any farther with Edd's, as this chappie's mainly about his own internal struggles. Also, I'd like to thank everyone that's reviewed so far, it feels good to know you all like it so far! **

**Wednesday - Edd**

_"Tuesday's grey, and Wednesday, too."_

For the first time in his life, Double Dee couldn't quit thinking about Marie Kanker. The guilt was unbearable; every time he closed his eyes or his mind drifted from what he was doing, all he could see was her expression. It wasn't the usual surly look or her heavy-lidded smirk, and the more he contemplated it, the more he rued his actions. Marie had actually looked…_dejected._ When he replayed the scene in his mind, she was standing over him, her hands on her hips, and that miserable look on her face. When she had spoken, she had obviously tried to sound angry or irritated, but the sound didn't match her face. It had fallen and exuberated a strange sense of sadness he had never seen before.

Double Dee did not understand his own feelings of guilt. Late the previous night, when he was supposed to be sound asleep in his bed, he had sat there, mind feeling conflicted. With his head in his hands, he had thought of all the times Marie had tortured him with her presence, how she had been source of most of his torment this summer. The way she tackled him, invaded his personal space, abused him…she had also stolen his first kiss (an even that still made him shudder at times). Marie Kanker was coarse, vulgar, rude, and abrasive. Wasn't she? The look in Marie's eyes had made him question the true qualities of her person. When he thought about it objectively and on a psychological level, he supposed that her roughness and tongue-in-cheek comments could have been a way to protect herself, though from what he did not know. People had all sorts of different ways of hiding vulnerability. He thought that this was fairly plausible, but it was difficult to think of one of his tormenters and proclaimed enemies in an unbiased way.

Double Dee had always thought that if there were any girls in the world who were simply unkind to the core, it was definitely the Kanker sisters. He never would've dreamt that Marie Kanker could have swayed him with a simple gaze of her eyes. For once, they had seemed wide and hurt, like the eyes of a doe, and had been filled with an odd look of betrayal. It was as if she had only then realized that his feelings for her were less than amorous and that she was like a thorn in his side. And, for reasons unbeknownst to him, that made him feel culpable.

Thoughts of this nature had troubled him all throughout the night. Double Dee had wished more than once for an on-off switch for the mind. His wretched feelings were determined to give him hell for what he had done and he felt that he was certainly paying for it; he couldn't have gone to sleep had it not been for pure exhaustion.

The morning couldn't have come soon enough; Double Dee had raised from his bed, which felt more like a grave now, tired of sleeplessness and tired of sleeping. He stretched, eyes aching from the bright light that shone from his curtains, and climbed out of his bed. He hoped that this love-hate relationship with sleep would end soon as he smoothed out the covers.

Double Dee meandered to the shower after making sure that his bed was as straight as he wanted it. Despite his difficult night and conflicting thoughts about Marie, there was no way he was going to skimp out on his shower. He stayed under the warm water longer than yesterday, with no Eddy bullying him to hurry up and get ready. The steam was relaxing and the hot water loosened the tension he was feeling. When he had thoroughly cleansed and rejuvenated himself, he toweled off, dressed, and then hurried down the stairs.

What greeted him were not his parents but instead his parents' sticky notes, left behind to take the place of their physical presence and for him to read. They decorated the walls, appliances, and furniture, various household chores written on them. Double Dee reached for one stuck onto the refrigerator: "Eddward, wash the dishes. Love, Mom." Her handwriting was elegant and neat, as if she had taken her time while writing the notes. Double Dee sometimes liked to think that she did, even if he knew his mother really didn't have to waste on such minor things.

He folded up the note neatly and placed it in the nearest trash receptacle before snapping on a fresh pair of latex gloves and starting his morning chores. Double Dee didn't really "enjoy" cleaning, but he hated for things to be dirty or disorganized, so he was always busy in his house. Today there were an exceptional amount of sticky notes pasted all over the house, and for this he was grateful. He didn't need to be idle, for it was just more time for him to mull over hurting Marie's feelings.

Double Dee's housekeeping was cut short that morning by the arrival of his friends. Ed and Eddy can bursting through the front door and hurtling into the kitchen. Double Dee, surprised, dropped the dish he was scrubbing to the floor, where it shattered with a loud, derisive crash.

"Good morning, Double Dee!" Ed cried happily, wrapping his skinny friend in a hug. Double Dee gasped, from not only a lack of air but also from terror at the broken dish.

Eddy bent down and grabbed a large shard of the broken plate. "Jeez, Double Dee. Jumpy much?" He laughed at his friends plight and sat the shard on the table.

"Oh, Eddy, you know I hate it when you-_Ed, let go of me!_" Double Dee yelled, and Ed dropped him quickly. Standing, Double Dee brushed off his apron he was wearing. "As I was saying…Eddy, you know I hate it when you sneak up on me!" He waggled a finger disapprovingly as his eyes fell to the plate. "Oh…and that was Mother's good china too… she's going to give me such a reprimanding…!"

"It's okay, Sockhead," Eddy told him, waving off his friend's worry. "Anyway, we've got bigger things to worry about."

Double Dee sighed heavily as he reached for the broom in a nearby corner. He spoke as he swept shards of glass into a pile. "Eddy, you always think there's something more important than the task I have at hand!" He groped for the dustpan and began to sweep the glass into it as he continued to scold Eddy for his insensitivity.

"Double Dee," Eddy interrupted him. Double Dee shoveled the glass shards into the trash bin and turned to face him.

"What, Eddy?" he asked, face low. He knew that his feelings were going to be blown off. Again.

"You finished with your chores yet?"

With a heavy sigh, Double Dee replaced the broom and dustpan. "Yes…"

"Great!" His friend grabbed him and pulled him into a tight, one-armed hug. "Now, I've got this great plan, ya see?" He swept his arm through the air for grandeur as he explained the mechanics of the days scam. He led the two of them out the door, Ed tagging along.

Double Dee tried to listen to his friend's crazy idea, but he was feeling oddly displaced. The day was uncomfortably warm, despite the crowd of grey clouds sewing themselves together in the sky, and his mind was still mulling over the events of yesterday. He began to wring his hands, that guilty feeling he had attempted to shake off settling over him, a very cold, black cloud on this warm summer day.

"Are ya listening to me, Sockhead?" Eddy's voice was loud and irate, but certainly brought Double Dee back to the current situation.

"Ohuh, I…sorry Eddy," he told him, his voice wavering.

Eddy raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong with you today, Double Dee?"

"Awwh," Ed started, "does Double Dee need a hug?" He galloped over to his sullen friend and squeezed him tightly.

"E-e-ed!" Double Dee choked out, face red. Ed dropped him, and Double Dee felt a strange sense of déjà vu. "Thanks, Ed, but, really, it's…" He cast a glance into the distance and realized that they were in the same spot as yesterday when they had been assaulted by the Kanker sisters. For the umpteenth time that morning, Double Dee could see the crestfallen look on Marie's face and felt the slow, expected pang of onus. He put a hand to his face, feeling shameful, then spoke, "I…I just feel so sick about all of this!" He grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest, turning from his friends. "It's as if the only thing I can think about is Marie…I feel so terrible, Eddy!" Double Dee swiftly spun around to face them once more. "What am I going to do, Eddy? I can't keep this up, I just can't stop thinking about h-"

Double Dee felt a warm hand slap over his mouth. He widened his eyes as Eddy tightly shut his. "Look here, Shakespeare," he told him in an offhand voice, "you're worrying your pretty little egghead over a Kanker." He released his hand from Double Dee's mouth and leaned against the countertop, looking nonchalant.

Double Dee's reaction was one he had not expected from himself. "Eddy, she's not just a Kanker! She has emotions, you know!" His mouth stung lightly from where Eddy's hand had clapped over it.

"It's responses like that…" Eddy mumbled to himself. He folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "I mean, come on, it's not like they're all sensitive and sweet and stuff. I swear, dames… who can figure 'em?"

"Eddy, that's not it!" Double Dee felt that he was pleading for his friend to understand that it was not what he thought it was. Eddy often took a stand in something he didn't know much about. "I feel responsible for her sadness, and I… I don't want to."

"Why does it matter, Sockhead? Can't you get it through your skull? She's just a Kanker!"

"She is _not_ "just a Kanker" Eddy." Double Dee was trying to keep his voice even as he spoke. "She is a girl, who has feelings. I discovered that yesterday."

Eddy stared at him for a moment as if he were a stranger, but he broke away from it. "Well, maybe you should do somethin' about it or whatever. I'm getting tired of your slacking around here! We got kids to scam!" He beat his fist into his palm to emphasize his point.

In a unique way, Double Dee felt this reaction to be relieving. He knew Eddy well enough to know that his derailment from a topic meant he wanted to just move on. Double Dee sighed and gave Eddy a weak smile. "Yeah, Eddy, I'm such a slacker these days…" 


	6. Wednesday: Marie

Sorry this took so long to write but is so super short. OTL. Marie's chapters are so much harder to write than Edd's, I don't know why. I'm a little unsure about this chapter, but I hope you all like it and tell me what you think.

**Wednesday: Marie**

_"Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart."_

The morning had passed on quietly into the daytime, and the daytime had now given way to the easiness that is twilight. The sky looked like a swirling vat of greens, yellows, and blues and was slowly transitioning to night. Marie was sitting outside of the trailer, eyes glued to the beautiful sky above her. She curled up, knees tucked into her chest and arms wrapped around them. She continued to gaze, a cool, gentle breeze grazing her face and mussing her hair more than usual. Her mind was preoccupied, but her body felt as if it wasn't. In her head, her thoughts were scattered, broken fragments, attempting to sew themselves together into complete thoughts.

Marie rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. When she sat them back into her lap, she saw her hands mottled with streaks of black and dark blue; she had not realized that she had been crying. She heaved a sigh and moved her shoulders, irritated now. Since yesterday she had been crying an obscene amount, as if the dam had now permanently burst. Frustrated, she clenched her fist and rammed it into the soft dirt, covering her hand in soil.

"Why," she mumbled aloud, "am I acting so stupid?" She cracked her knuckles and raised from the ground. Marie couldn't help it; she didn't like seeing people cry and she sure didn't like crying herself. It made her feel weak and vulnerable, and she knew that she was anything but. Looking back at the darkening, Marie decided that a walk was in order. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her cargo pants and took off without telling her sisters. She wouldn't be missed.

Marie hadn't put much thought into where she was going, so she simply let her legs carry her to wherever. She strolled through the trailers, passing ones as crummy and beat up as hers and worse, laundry hung on makeshift lines and car parts strewn in their "yards." She shook her head and stared at the ground. When she was younger she felt like the trailer trash that everyone thought she was, but she had long since forgotten about what people thought. She looked back at the trailer park before she exited and turned the nearest corner.

The woods were particularly quiet tonight, and every thought of Marie's felt magnified within her head. She tried to keep her mind as blank as possible, since every time she began to think she was weighed down by the sorrows of yesterday. Shoulders feeling heavy, she continued to march through the twilit woods, hearing nothing but the snapping of twigs beneath her sneakers. She emerged from the woods into a clearing, a alley bordered by wooden fence in the distance. Knowing full well that she shouldn't, she walked down the alley and past the dumpster, all the way to the mouth of the alley. As she turned the corner, the cul-de-sac came into her vision. She sighed and crossed her arms as she continued down the street.

Night had fallen now, and the street lights were now casting pools of eerie, yellow light on the sidewalk. The cul-de-sac looked so peaceful in the darkness, Marie thought. The nice, two-story houses formed an implied line all the way around, squares of light glowing through their windows. She smiled and thought about how nice it would be to live in a house, instead of a run-down trailer park, but her smile was washed away when her eyes fell to the blue house not so far in front of her. She halted in front of the large front, curtain-drawn window, illuminated by the light shining through the window. There, seated in the living room, was Edd, pouring over a book.

Marie felt her throat close tightly, and despite how badly she wanted to move, all she could do was stand there as if flash-frozen. She stared through the glass at the one person she wanted to see everyday and at the same time never wanted to see again. A dull ache could be felt in her chest as she eyed him, sitting cross legged on his couch reading. She feared that he would look up and see her gaping at him outside, but he was deeply immersed in whatever he was reading. She swallowed hard before forcing her feet to shuffle out of sight and into the shadows.

She put her hand to her chest and sighed quite audibly. Marie sat down in the wet grass, heart beating a mile a minute. What was she doing out here? Did she want him to hate her more? The thought of it made her throat tighten and burn, the same way it always did before she started sobbing like a little girl. She ran her hands through her hair and curled her fingers tightly. She was so sick of crying, of being plagued with this uncharacteristic habit. She bit her lip as the tears rolled down her cheeks, and she cursed rather loudly under her breath. She wished that she could erase her feelings, that she could have never saw Edd, that she had never let herself get so caught up in something as silly as a crush. More than anything, she wished that she had never let this get so out of hand.

As sudden as her tears, a strong rage built up inside her. Marie could feel her blood boiling as she stared down the house in front of her. She clenched her hand into a fist and she swore again. Part of her couldn't believe that she was letting some boy manipulate her feelings so much, and she had the sudden urge to barge into his home to give her a piece of her mind, with her fists. She was beginning to believe that the feeling of his skin bruising beneath her hands would, while not fixing anything, make her feel a great deal better. She thought about how many tears she had shed over someone who didn't really care and it rubbed salt into the wound.

Unlike yesterday, her anger did not fade away. She imagined how he was sitting there, just reading his silly book, complete unaware of the damage he had done to her. She knew that if she saw him in the days to come, she would completely pound him. He had been an outlet for her countless times, but her anger had never been directed at him. Now, he was in for a world of trouble and had no idea, not a clue, for he was merely lost in his own little pacifist world where everything was labeled and neatly folded.

Heartbroken and scorned, Marie stood from the damp grass and wiped her eyes. She hoped that the well had dried for good and that tears could no longer be squeezed from her tear ducts. She wiped her hands on her pants and then walked, directly in front of the window, not caring if he caught her. She wanted to go lie down, try and calm down a bit. Maybe it would make her feel better about this. Maybe.


	7. Thursday: Edd

Note: This time, Edd's perspective is carrying over from Wednesday night to Thursday. Sorry it's so short, but Marie's Thursday's… more important. Enjoy!

**Thursday: Edd**

_"Thursday, I don't care about you."_

Double Dee looked away from his copy of _The Great Gatsby_ and peered through the window. He raised his eyebrows as he saw a shadow moving quickly across the yard, and with a pang of paranoia, he shut his book and stared intently. He saw one oblong shadow stretching out from the rectangular shadow of his house.

"How peculiar…" he murmured to himself, sweat beading his brow. He shut his book and laid it on the coffee table before standing and creeping towards the window.

Edd glanced out once more before drawing the curtains closed slowly, hoping to not draw attention to himself if there was someone outside. He then cracked open the drapes from the side and peeked into his yard, straining to see.

He was positive that there was someone outside.

With a nervous sigh, Edd shut the drapes and backed away from the window. If he went to the backdoor, he thought quickly, he could glance around the corner of his house and see who was out there. He scurried into the kitchen and produced a spatula to arm himself with just incase before slipping out the backdoor.

Outside it was already black as pitch. He looked up to see a fair amount of stars in the sky and considered stargazing later, only to shake his head and remind himself of his mission. Gripping his metal spatula tightly in his hands, Edd shuffled to the corner of his house and took a quick glace around to see if there was a person or a body. What he saw, he didn't believe, and once more looked around the corner. His double take had been well-deserved, as there was in fact a person outside of his house, but they weren't at all what he was expecting.

Sitting curled up on his lawn was Marie Kanker, bawling her eyes out as if she had just lost her best friend, if she had had any to lose. Tears were streaming down her face, stained bluish-black from her makeup and streaking her pale cheeks. Her hair was unruly and wild, brushed away from her face so both of her eyes were exposed. They were glistening with tears and she was holding her hands to her mouth, as if ashamed of herself. Edd turned back around and pressed himself against the back of his house. Was he really seeing this? With one final check he confirmed that his eyes were not lying to him.

He felt bewildered at first. Why was she crying, and, more importantly, why was she here? He looked back around the corner to see her head tucked in while she cried silently. With a pang of guilt as sharp as a knife, Double Dee thought about yesterday and bit his lip. Her tears couldn't possibly be over that? Could they? He heard an audible sob emit from the hurt girl and he knew that this was indeed his doing. He considered going over to her, offering solace, but he immediately reconsidered. If she was crying because of what he had done, there wasn't a chance she would want to see him. Even if Marie was in a state of despair, he knew better than to show his face around her right now. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," he whispered to himself.

He thought about his conversation with Eddy earlier that day, how he had insisted that it wasn't a big deal. "She's tough," he had told him, "I doubt she was even affected by it. You know how many times I've shoved off Lee and she keeps coming back? Leave it to a Kanker." Double Dee's mouth hardened into a thin line; he should've known better than to find peace in Eddy's words. Why he had ever taken comfort in his crude friend's words was beyond him now.

Double Dee heaved a sigh and dropped his head into his hands. He had never dreamed that he would feel guilty about hurting Marie Kanker's feelings, but his actions from yesterday were proving to be a wretched mistake. He could hear her sniffing and coughing a bit, the way one does after a heavy session of crying, and he heard the sound of rustling grass. He bolted back inside his house just in case she came around back; he could only imagine the beating he would get for eavesdropping on her.

Once inside, Double Dee returned to his place on the couch and stared at the drawn curtains. How long had she been there? Was she going to try and talk to him? Was this the first time she had cried, or…? His head was filled with so many questions and was beginning to ache. He leaned against the cushions and crossed his arms behind his head. He hadn't any idea what to do when it came to crying girls. No amount of studying could ever tell him the chemical formula for mending a girl's broken heart.

That thought alone made him groan aloud. That was exactly what he had done, wasn't it? He had broken her heart. Double Dee just knew that this wasn't the first time she had cried, that this was why she hadn't come around that day to pester him, and that this wasn't going to just go away. He was ruing his mistake of pushing her and yelling at her, but he had not known that this was going to happen. Marie had always seemed so callous and tough; he had never been able to imagine her balled up and crying, and he certainly never thought that he'd see her doing that in his backyard. A feeling of hypocrisy washed over him. He had scolded Eddy that day for acting as if the Kankers weren't girls. Well, wasn't that the very thing he had always done himself? Even now he was completely boggled by the sight of Marie shedding a tear.

Double Dee snatched his book from the table and tucked it under his arm. He was too upset now to continue reading. He stood and took the stairs two at a time to his room, where he placed it in its correct spot on his book shelf before laying down on the bed. He gazed up at the ceiling, mind reeling. How he was going to fall asleep that night, he had no idea. With a heaviness in his chest, he undressed and climbed into bed, hoping that the following day make this situation easier to cope with.

XXX

The night had proved itself as difficult, if not more so, as Edd had predicted. He was now groggy and irritated, even after his morning shower, as he sat in his garage. He was hunched over the table, hands at work at disassembling an old, badly beaten toaster. He had always found some kind of comfort in taking apart things; keeping his hands busy often kept his mind busy, too. He bit his lip as the toaster apart, concentrating.

The garage doors rattled much too loudly as they were raised up. Double Dee jumped at the sound and his screwdriver he had clutched in his hand went crashing to the floor. He cringed as a hand clapped down on his narrow shoulder.

"Heya, there, Sockhead!" Eddy's grating voice spoke, loudly, into his ear.

"What, Eddy?" Double Dee snapped at him. He turned around in his chair, but the glare he wore faded away.

"Whoa, what's up with you today, Double Dee?" Eddy asked, sounding a little annoyed. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Sorry, Eddy," he told him, looking down at the concrete flooring. "I just… didn't sleep well last night."

Eddy furrowed his brow. "You're not still worried about Marie, are ya?"

Double Dee gave his friend an incredulous look, but he didn't say a word. He thought about how much Eddy detested the Kankers, and he knew that he'd never understand where his guilt was coming from. It was an unfortunate realization, but Double Dee accepted it.

"No, Eddy," Double Dee said flatly. "Just couldn't sleep."

His ignorant friend cracked a smile. "Well, that's good! Me and Ed have a-" he stopped mid-sentence and glanced around the room. "Where's Ed?"

Double Dee shrugged. "Look Eddy…I'm not really in the mood for scamming today…"

"Whaddya mean, you're not in the 'mood'!"

"I mean," he began again, trying to be assertive, "that I'm not in the mood." He laced his fingers together in his lap, nervous.

He could feel Eddy staring at him, all though he said nothing. "Well, Sockhead," he said, voice dripping in venom, "then I guess I'll be on my way out." With that, Eddy strutted out of his garage and sent the door slamming down to the ground behind him.

Double Dee felt a strange feeling come over him. A pressure built up inside him; he set aside the toaster. He brought his hands to his face and covered his eyes. As he hunched over the table, a sob shook him violently, and he began to cry. As melodramatic as he was, he had not cried so hard in a long time, and the release of emotion felt good. He wiped his eyes and sighed heavily, chest feeling altogether lighter and mind clearer. He laid his head on the cool tabletop, wishing he could rewind time and think twice.

"I can't keep thinking about this," Double Dee mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes and didn't move, and soon enough, he felt himself drifting to sleep. In his sleep, he did not dream, and for once he did not care that his day was wasted slumbering, or that he had angered one of his dearest friends. All he cared about was the pleasantness of sleep.


	8. Thursday: Marie

Well, I thought it would be best to go ahead and complete the story this week! What remains will be posted on Friday. It seems appropriate. Also, this chapter is super short, but it's supposed to be. As always, R&R, and most importantly, enjoy.

**Thursday: Marie**

_"Thursday doesn't even start."_

When Marie awoke the next morning, there was a heaviness in both her head and heart. She felt a dizzying sensation, as if there was a rain coming down inside her skull. She had stayed in bed instead of getting up, and she still laid there now. Her arms crossed behind her head, she had spent the morning thinking. She thought about her life, what she was going to wear that day when she decided to leave the bed, and she thought about sleeping more. Mostly, though, she thought about punching Double Dee.

The thought put a smile on her face but a frown in her eyes. She could feel her knuckles burning, she wanted to hit him so badly. Her anger had not burnt out overnight, and she clenched her fist as she imagined slamming it into his soft face. The idea was so tempting, but she wondered at first if she would ever get out of bed to do it.

She chuckled at this and reminisced last night's crying fit, the anger that had blossomed from her. It was when she had arrived at home and laid in bed to go to sleep that she had decided to do it. She was determined to let her fists get a taste of his flesh. Marie's only want in the world was to slug Double Dee, the nicest kid in the neighborhood, right across his face. She had come to the conclusion that this physical contact, different from all their other interactions, would be the antidote to her love sickness. She would end this disease he had infected her with. The thought alone made her breathless. It all sounded so…liberating.

Marie's dreams had been empty and black. She had been able to sleep peacefully that night, because for the first time in a long time, her last thoughts had not been ruled by aching and wanting. She could hardly contain her excitement at the idea of ridding herself of those feelings. To know that she was not going to lay in bed every night filled with thoughts of that silly Edd made her want to sing. She couldn't help herself.

Marie took a deep breath and she grinned at the ceiling. She was plotting how she was going to implement this. What was the proper time to do it? She bit her lip in thought. More importantly, how could she convey all of her emotion into one single strike? She hoped her fist could say what her mouth couldn't. She wasn't good with words. Perhaps it could tell Double Dee that she loved him with something more than love, that she had stayed up so many nights just thinking about him, that he was the only person she could have seen herself loving.

The fact that she knew he didn't know those things made her angry all over again. She grinned devilishly. Tomorrow he would know, she decided. She would tell him, or show him, how she felt. She would let him know everything.

Marie cracked her knuckles and relaxed in the bed. It was so comfy, and she thought about just taking a day off for herself. Her eyes moved to the door and she considered locking it. Her sisters could get over it. She rose and walked to the door to lock it. She tossed the key somewhere on the floor and jumped back into bed. She pressed her face against the pillows, happy to not be downstairs doing chores or outside in the heat. She grinned into the cotton pillowcase while she contemplated what her sisters were going to be doing that day.

"I bet their going to torture the Eds," Marie mumbled to it. "I bet their going to kiss them and cuddle 'em and bug 'em." She told herself that those days were over for her, that she would move on and do things worth while. "Mom was right…men…I mean, who needs 'em, anyway?"

The joy she felt was immense. Marie smiled to herself, glad to have her confidence back that characterized her. She was no love slave to any man, and that was good. She ran a hand through her short blue hair, feeling freer already. She looked at her hands, her way complete uninhibitedness, feeling no sense of remorse for her victim.


	9. Friday: Edd & Marie

It's the end of the road, folks. R & R, and as always, enjoy.

**Edd & Marie: Friday**

_"It's Friday, I'm in love."_

Instead of the hot sun lingering in the cloudless sky, Friday had come dressed in overcast; the typically blue sky was a battleship grey and thick clouds smothered the sun. Despite this, the day was still quite warm as it was July, and the kids of the cul-de-sac were out doing their normal activities. All, that is, except for the Eds.

Eddy had not bothered coming around that morning to Double Dee's house. He didn't blame him for this cold shoulder, as he had clearly expressed his want to be alone, but Double Dee still felt remorse. All he seemed to feel these days was that, guilt, for things that he didn't entirely mean to do. He had scolded himself enough for these half-hearted actions, though, and he knew that if he started, he would just ruin another day. With a sigh, Double Dee took a wistful glance at the window and saw the dreary sky. Perhaps this day would be sub-par regardless of what he did. He stood and crossed over to the window, and he wrenched it up to let air in. A surprising coolness breezed in, foreshadowing a coming rain. Double Dee stuck his hand out the window, felt the nice, breezy air, and decided that he could wallow while it was raining. Wanting to enjoy the weather now, he shut the window and scurried down his steps. He locked his front door behind him and stepped out into the cul-de-sac.

Outside, the rest of the kids were playing a rousing game of kickball. Double Dee took a seat in front of door and watched as the two teams of neighborhood kids faced off. Kevin was the person rolling the ball, which was to be expected, while Sarah harassed Jimmy to step up to the plate to kick. The delicate boy was terrified, shrieking and moving out of the way as Kevin slung the ball in his direction. This led to an argument between Kevin and Sarah, who was yelling about how he couldn't roll a ball if his life depended on it. While the two bickered, members of each team began to talk. Double Dee sighed at their social interactions, slightly envious. He shut his eyes and listened to their conversations until he felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He creaked open his eyes to find Nazz standing before him, a questioning smile on her face.

"Double Dee? You okay, dude?" she asked in that sweet voice of hers, all though it didn't seem so sweet now.

For once, her presence wasn't making him break out in a nervous sweat or hives. He looked up at her and gave her a bittersweet smile. "Oh, Nazz. I'm fine, really."

She bought that. Nazz simply grinned and gestured to the group of kids behind her that was slowly calming down from Sarah's outburst. "Wanna come play some kickball with us?"

Double Dee considered this for a moment, but he had to decline; he would do nothing but embarrass himself playing a sport, even if it was just kickball. "Thank you very much, Nazz, but…I'd rather not. I'm not particularly fond of sports."

She shrugged. "Whatever you want, dude." She waved him goodbye as Kevin called out for her. "See ya Double Dee!"

"Yeah. See you." She jogged back to the group and lined up with her team, as it was their turn to kick. He continued to watch their game for a while before growing disinterested.

He stood from his front steps and stretched, thinking about talking a walk. There was a high chance of rain in this kind of weather, but he decided that he would chance it and go anyway. He waited and examined the game, trying to make sure he wouldn't get hit with the kickball. After successfully crossing the street without any injuries, he ducked into the woodsy area of Peach Creek to enjoy more time alone.

The woods were darker than usual without the sun shining, but it was still beautiful in a gloomy, romantic way. Shadows were everywhere, consuming the trees and the ground, deadening them, but the woods were very much alive. The sounds of birds chirping loudly were ringing through Double Dee's ears, along with the buzzing of insects. He smiled at the wonder surrounding him, not feeling at all troubled for the first time since Tuesday. He continued to walk through the thickets of trees slowly, taking his time for he didn't want to return anytime soon. The air was gently rattling the leaves of the trees, creating an entire forest orchestra. It was all very enchanting. He was distracted, but he snapped back to reality as he stumbled over a rotting log. He came tumbling over, landing face-down on the dry, dusty earth. He coughed loudly and stood up before looking down in disdain at his shirt.

"Oh my…look at those grass stains…" Double Dee groaned. He threw up his hands in frustration, then took a seat on the same treacherous log that had tripped him. He decided that this was a less dangerous way to get engrossed in the sounds of nature and closed his eyes, listening intently.

Among the sounds of birds, insects, and leaves, a single, muffled sound told him he was not alone. Double Dee's eyes shot open and he began to look around quickly, growing nervous. Was there someone else here with him? The sound was barely audible, but it was definitely a voice. He listened closely, but the words were unintelligible. He stood once more, making sure to not trip again and draw attention to himself. He walked slowly to not make any sudden noises and approached a very large thicket of bushes, where the voice seemed to be coming from. He crouched down in front of the thicket and peered through the dense foliage, trying his best to see what was on the other side.

The words were still hard to understand, but not impossible. It was a female's voice, of that Double Dee was certain, and as he pulled a few stubborn twigs out of the way, he could see the owner. He almost gasped aloud, but bit down on his bottom lip to stop himself. Marie Kanker was there, mere feet away from him, sitting cross-legged on a large rock. She had her back turned to him and was facing the flowing, babbling creek. He stared at her, frozen, stuck somewhere between thinking that she was either the most beautiful or terrifying thing he had ever seen.

His conscience was relieved. He thought about how, since she was sitting a few feet away from him, he could apologize to her, rid himself of this guilt that had been plaguing him that week. He could approach her and give her the sincerest of apologies, tell her that he never meant to upset her, and he would no longer feel bad. However, as appealing as that was, there was a small part of him that was still intimidated by Marie. He didn't know what she would do next, and that alone petrified him.

Double Dee swallowed hard and peered through the hole in the thicket once more. Marie had unlaced her sneakers and tossed them to the ground. She was dipping her feet into the cool water, which must've been cooler than she had expected because she shrieked upon contact. She ripped her feet away from the creek and swore under her breath. Double Dee put his hand to his mouth, trying to stifle his giggles at her actions, but the sound escaped. He saw Marie turn her head a tick at this, and he started to worry that she had heard him. She turned around and looked around, eyes closing in on the thicket. In a fit of panic, he backed away from the thicket. He had not gone unnoticed.

Marie herself was perplexed; she had sworn that when she was passing through there were no other bodies in sight. She crossed her arms and stared at the clump of bushes in front of her, the same one she always had to fight to get through. She gritted her teeth and marched over to them, convinced that there was some unwanted guest here. She began to tear at the twigs until she saw the other side, where a quivering Double Dee was balled up, obviously hiding. She reached down and grabbed him by the shirt collar before dragging him through the thicket.

"What're _you_ doing here?" Marie snapped, not wasting any time. She shook him violently; she was rather excited about him being here.

Double Dee was a little more than scared now. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady himself. "I…I didn't know you were here, Marie!"

She shrugged his hands off of her shoulders, and her mouth formed into a thin, red line. She wasn't going to listen to him, that much he could tell. "I know it was you that laughed," she scoffed. "There ain't anyone else here."

"Um…why, yes…" Double Dee sputtered out. He had to be brave now, he told himself. She was obviously not in much of a talking mood. "I wasn't here to uh, laugh at you though."

"Then why are you here?" Marie stared at him, waiting for the perfect time to send her fist crashing into his face. "Here to tick me off more?"

"No, Marie!"

"Then what?" Marie yelled at him. She let go of his shirt and looked away for a moment. It was unbelievable that her prey had presented itself to her, and she decided that now would be the best time to set her plan into action. She poised herself, ready to slug him at the first sound of one of his silly excuses.

Double Dee straightened his shirt and looked at her. Marie looked so angry, and he knew that he no longer had an option; he had to apologize to her. He wrung his hands as he began to speak. "Marie…I'm really…I've…I'm sorry about Tuesday…" he started, voice shaking. Marie's eyes went wide at his words, and he began to speak again quickly. "I really didn't think about what I was doing, if I had I never would have shoved you…I didn't mean to upset you, honestly. It was all just a mistake, a faux pas if you will…and I've been out of my mind all week, feeling nothing but remorse…"

Marie's face was a cross between astonished and perturbed. She flung her hand back, and he flinched as she clenched her fist. Her hand was frozen there, though. "I…you…" she stuttered out.

Her mind was running away from her; this moment seemed surreal. She moved to send the unexpected blow across his face, but she couldn't get herself to do it. Marie looked up into his dark eyes, wide and full of the one thing she had never expected: sympathy. A different kind of anger built up inside of her, but it brought no violent thoughts with it. Feeling defeated, she dropped her hand to her waist and looked at Double Dee incredulously. "Why do you have to do that?"

He was looking as shocked as she was. "I'm afraid I don't comprehend," Double Dee said in a mousy voice. He was feeling uncomfortable now, this situation as foreign to him as the one where she was crying outside of his house.

"Why do you always have to be so nice!" she cried, frustrated. "How come you can't just be mean, like everybody else?"

"I don't-"

"You don't have to! I don't want you to!" Marie said. She folded her arms across her chest and turned from him. "I don't want you to understand, and I don't want you to feel sorry for me. It only…makes it harder," she said, her final words fading into a whisper. She could feel her tough skin peeling away as she spoke, and it only exasperated her more.

Double Dee approached her slowly but dared not touch her. He was puzzled by her words. "Make it harder? Marie, I really don't understand, I just…wanted to let you know how sorry I was…"

She whipped around to face him once more. "That's what I mean! I don't want you to be sorry, I don't want you to care! I just want to forget about you!"

Double Dee's eyes widened at her words. "Forget…about me?"

"Yes!" she yelled. "How do you forget about someone you love when they just keep leading you on and make you think they care?" Her lip began to tremble and she turned away from him to walk towards the rock she had been sitting at before he came.

Double Dee didn't move to follow her or stop her; her words had left him standing there, even more confused. Love? Leading her on? None of this made sense to him. This was Marie Kanker, a hard girl who enjoyed torturing him because he was "cute" or something. He thought about how she had cried so hard outside of his house, and it hit him like a ton of bricks that she had been feeling something a little different that what he had. He hadn't offended her when he pushed her away. He had broken her heart. He had never felt more like a jerk before. "Marie," he began quietly as he slowly inched towards her, "I had…I didn't even know…that you…"

"What does it matter, anyway," Marie replied back scornfully. "It's not like you really care, or anything."

"It's not like that!" he said back without thinking. She shot him a nasty look. "I mean…it really isn't like that…"

She smirked at him, but it wasn't her typical, seductive smirk. "Oh, really," she said flatly.

Double Dee wanted to be as upset as she was, but he couldn't be. He didn't blame her for not listening to him. It wasn't like he always showed her that he cared. Wasn't he, half the time, helping Eddy scheme for ways to get rid of her and her sisters? Hadn't he wished so many times that she would simply leave him alone for good? Didn't he want her to go away and never bother him again? He pondered this for a moment as she looked at him, distressed. If he had really wanted her to disappear, to leave him alone, to never speak to or chase him again, he wouldn't have felt the need to apologize. He wouldn't have wasted his week sulking and feeling angry that he had upset her.

With a deep breath, he walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Marie whipped around to glare at him, but was surprised to see such a soft expression on his face. Double Dee gazed down at her, a gentle look in his eyes. "I care, Marie. This entire week, the only thing I've thought about is how I hurt you the other day, only I wasn't aware of the full extent of the damage I had done," he said tenderly. Her blue eyes were bewildered while he talked. "I just wanted to say I was sorry."

"You don't have to pretend," she said. Her voice was nasty, but it didn't match her eyes. "I get the picture."

"I'm not pretending," he replied calmly.

Marie raised an eyebrow. Where was that anger she had felt? And where was the boy that screamed and ran from her when she approached? She reached a single hand towards his face, touched it gently. He flinched just the slightest at the feeling of her fingertips on his skin, but he remained standing there. "You don't like me," she told him matter-of-factly.

Double Dee could feel his heart racing, anxious, at her touch. "I…I like you," he admitted slowly. When he said the words, he believed them; if he hadn't liked her, would he have cared so much?

"But," she started, "you don't…like me."

"I don't?"

"No." He seemed slightly taken aback by this answer and she eyed him curiously. On impulse, Marie turned to face him full front. She stood, and his hand dropped to his waist. Her free hand drifted to his face to hold it, and the other caressed it gently. She turned her head a fraction and leaned in, then she delicately pressed her lips to his. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck as she kissed him. She pulled her lips away from his and she murmured, "Do you?"

Double Dee was pensive and didn't say anything to her. Marie would have understood if he ran away from her, but his silence was unnerving. She waited, uneasy, for him to either concur or leave her standing there feeling foolish. However, he did neither of these things; instead, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a loose hug. Marie parted her lips to speak, but no words came out. His eyes were heavy though he remained quiet. "Aren't you going to answer me?" she pried.

His face blushed the color of beets as he spoke. "Actions speak louder than words, I suppose." At this Marie laughed aloud. His blush deepened and he chuckled with her nervously. She locked her eyes to his, a smile plastered on her face, before she planted her lips on his mouth once more.

Double Dee wasn't very experienced, and even though he had been kissed numerous times by her, this felt like something very new. He wrapped his arms around her tighter as she worked her mouth against his, not sure what he should do. He felt her mouth drift away.

"I'm not gonna bite…yet," she teased, and he swallowed hard. Even with their feelings having been expressed to one another, this was all very awkward. He gave her a nervous grin.

"Sorry, Marie. This is just…ah…awkward?"

"You're so cute when you don't know what to do," Marie mused. She was going to lean in once more, but the sound of thunder cracking overhead stopped her. She glanced upwards at the sky, which had turned into a much darker grey than when she had first ventured outside. A brilliant bolt of lightening shattered the smooth monochrome sky and she could feel small droplets of water wetting her hair and clothes.

"Summer rains," Double Dee said, staring up at the sky as well. "You can never predict them."

"I'm gonna get soaked!" Marie squealed. Double Dee let her go and she hurried to get her shoes. She shoved them on her feet and didn't bother to lace them.

"Marie!"

"What?"

"Your shoe laces! They're going to be filthy if you leave them untied!" Double Dee scolded.

"You're kidding, right?" she laughed. She grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her as the rain started pouring down. "We've got more important things to worry about, like…oh, I dunno, getting out of the rain?" Marie broke into a run, hand still wrapped around Double Dee's. He tried to keep up with her without slipping in the process. She maneuvered them around trees and steered clear of thickets and logs, until eventually they immerged in front of the cul-de-sac.

Marie looked at Double Dee, who was breathing heavy from the run. He was completely soaked, and with a glance at her own clothes, she saw that she was too. Her eyes traveled down to her sneakers. Her laces were the color of the mud she had been running through. Double Dee noticed as well and said, "I told you so…filthy!" She began to laugh at him as she wrung out her wet hair.

He smiled at her giggling and couldn't help thinking she was pretty, even if she did look like she had gone swimming with her clothes on. He glanced up at the sky to see the grey clouds parting like a curtain to reveal the fat, yellow sun. Rain was no longer dripping down from the sky. "Summer rains, you can never predict them."

"Mm," Marie agreed. She whipped her hair to dry it some and looked at him wistfully. "I think I'd better leave now. After all, I need to clean my laces."

"Don't mock me," he told her, but she just giggled and waved him goodbye as she walked back into the woods to go to the trailer park. He watched her as he began to wring out his shirt.

"You look like a drowned rat, Sockhead!" Eddy's voice yelled to him. Double Dee snapped his head around to see Eddy and Ed walking towards him. A rolled up piece of paper was clutched in Eddy's hand. "You get caught in the rain?"

"Ohuh, yes!" Double Dee replied. He met them halfway and Eddy handed him the paper. "A scam?"

"Yep!" Eddy said excitedly. "The greatest scam of all time, I can assure you!"

"Right-O," Double Dee said, skeptical. He was glad, though, to be standing there with his friends, talking about scamming. It was as if nothing spectacular had happened, as if today was ordinary. "I'll read over it in a minute, Eddy…I think I ought to change clothes first."

"Alright! But hurry up, I can't have you slackin' anymore!"

"But of course," he said as he trudged to his house.

He quickly unlocked his door and put his dirty, wet clothes into the wash before changing into clean ones. As he was leaving his room, he passed by a mirror that caused him to stop. Around his mouth was a smearing of red lipstick. His hand shot there and began to rub roughly, not wanting either of his friends to know what happened. He reduced it to a hardly noticeable pink and wondered if this was going to be a regular occurrence. He dreamily thought about how her lips felt against his mouth before deciding that he didn't mind if he had to scrub lipstick off his mouth everyday. Remembering the plans that he had, Double Dee shook away these thoughts and turned on his heel to leave.


End file.
